How to get rid of my breast augmentation scar? Would CO2 laser help?

Question

I had a breast augmentation done 2 years ago. Is it possible to get rid of the scars? I get Co2 Total FX done on my face. Would the same laser help to make the scars disappear?

Edwin C. Pound, III, MD · Answer

Unfortunately, once you have cut through the full thickness of the skin, you will always have a scar.  You cannot get rid of it.  The best that we can do with revision would be to make the scar slightly thinner or re-orient it so that it is less conspicuous.  Your breast augmentation scars appear to be fairly normal results for this type of surgery and I doubt that any treatment will significantly improve them.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Plastic surgery scars require attention after surgery so that they remain cosmetically-appealing and barely noticeable. In our office, we use a protocol for scars that minimizes their activity in the 6-8 weeks after surgery. If you have late plastic surgery scars, you may also require laser and RF therapy to help reduce the longterm effects of the scarring. Keloids, hypertrophic scars, widened scars, red scars, and hyperpigmented scars all require scar modulation with topical creams followed by lasers and RF therapy. Topical skincare should be directed to a specific need, whether for pigmentation or hypertrophy and our office can guide you through the process to obtain the correct Plato’s Scar cream or Melarase cream for hypertrophy and discoloration. In terms of lasers, we would employ the vbeam laser for redness, Venus Viva RF, PRP microneedling, chemical peels, and Morpheus 8, fractional erbium, or fractional co2. All of these have their individual benefits. Most of all, we recommend you visit a solid plastic surgeon who understands surgical scar revision, laser therapy, and RF therapy for scars. 
 
Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Ercan Karacaoglu, MD, FEBOPRAS · Answer

There are interventions, which can be done to your scars to appear  less noticeable: (but totally invisible scars are not possible)- correction with laser - Fractional Erbium Laser treatment is very effective at smoothing and flattening raised lumpy incision sites. Typically 4-5 treatments 6 weeks apart are enough.- Intense pulsed light or IPL  is very effective at reducing the redness in wounds. Usually 3-4 treatments 6 weeks apart are required. - Chemical peels,  steroid  injections, and silicone occlusion are also very helpful.You can consider surgical scar revision, if these treatments do not work.I hope this will help ..

Lewis Albert Andres, MD · Answer

Hello!  Thank you for your question. It is common for scars to fully mature for up to a year. In the meantime, there are a few things that may help to ameliorate your incision/scar. The most proven (as well as cheapest) modality is simple scar massage. Applying pressure and massaging the well-healed scar has been shown to improve the appearance as it breaks up the scar tissue, hopefully producing the finest scar as possible. Other things that have been shown to add some benefit are silicone sheets, hydration, and topical steroids. In addition, avoidance of direct sunlight to the incision will significantly help the appearance as they tend to discolor with UV light during the healing process. If unsightly scars are still present after approximately a year's time, other things that your surgeon may consider are intralesional steroid injections, laser, or just surgical revision of the scar itself.  Scars will never disappear. At 2 years postop, consideration for scar revision is reasonable. Hope that this helps! Best wishes for a wonderful result!

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

TotalFX can help make the scar appear less noticeable, however nothing will get rid of it completely (as already state).  I suggest seeking a laser expert.  This is something I do regularly for breast reconstruction, skin cancer reconstruction, C-section scars ect., and you want to seek someone similar.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Ryan A. Stanton, MD · Answer

Although you can never completely remove a scar, there are ways to significantly improve it. See below:The gold standard for hypertrophic (thickened, raised and red &/or darkly pigmented) scar therapy is pressure and time - occasionally a year or more.  If this fails then scar revision surgery may be considered. Although the results of scar therapy vary from person to person and scar to scar, the results are typically permanent.Not infrequently potential patients avoid surgery because fear of an unsightly scar. To remedy this, I now utilize and formulate compounded topical creams to treat, relieve and minimize scars for each of my patients:• new scars• old scars• surgical scars• keloid scars• stretch marks• hypertrophic scars• hyperpigmented (dark) scars• various acne scars, burn scars and more...These scar removal creams contain prescription strength medications each individually known to reduce and/or reverse the scarring process but never before compounded together into one high potency formulation. These medications are added to a base of anhydrous silicone (the most common ingredient in everyday topical scar therapy) and Pracaxi oil, found in the Amazon rainforest and known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. Many health insurance plans actually cover the cost of the creams and they can be delivered directly to the patients door step. In other words, no need for multiple trips to the doctor for expensive and painful laser treatments, or wasted money on minimally effective over-the-counter topical scar therapy gels or silicone sheets that are unsightly and/or fail to stay on. Instead, with just two applications a day my patients now perform scar therapy in the comfort of their own home.  Glad to help.

Omar Ibrahimi, MD, PhD · Answer

Your scars can be improved in appearance with laser resurfacing, however as stated by the other doctors, this will not eliminate or remove the scar completely.

How to get rid of my breast augmentation scar? Would CO2 laser help?

Answers (7)

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